Ultrabook: Intel’s $300 million plan to beat Apple at its own game

In an effort to blunt the (ARM-based) tablet threat, Intel wants PC makers to …

My desktop isn't the only computer I plan to replace in the next few months. I need a new laptop too, and my goal is simple: to find a 13" MacBook Air that isn't made by Apple.

It turns out that I'm not the only one wanting this mythical non-Apple MacBook Air. Intel wants them too—it calls them Ultrabooks. The chip company has been kicking the Ultrabook idea around for a few months now, and it has grand ambitions: by the end of next year, it wants 40 percent of PC laptops to be Ultrabooks.

Ultrabooks are ultralight PCs, like the MacBook Air, no more than 0.8" thick, like the MacBook Air, with Intel processors, like the MacBook Air, metal cases for superior heat dissipation, like the MacBook Air, SSD storage, like the MacBook Air, long battery life and even longer standby time, like the MacBook Air, and affordable, like the MacBook Air. Oh, and they should boot in 7 seconds or less (which at a pinch, the MacBook Air can probably pull off, too). Is the MacBook Air actually an Ultrabook? Intel told us that that's up to Apple—the MacBook Air is an Ultrabook in all but name.

Intel, keen to stimulate demand for PCs (rather than for ARM-powered tablets) is clearly so annoyed by the inability for PC OEMs to meet this specification that it recently announced the creation of a $300m "Ultrabook Fund" to invest in companies that are working to build this kind of hardware. That's a damning indictment of the PC industry.

What Intel is asking for is readily attainable. We know that because Apple's selling millions of Airs. And yet the world's five biggest PC manufacturers—HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and Asustek—have so far been unable to come up with something equivalent. And apparently they're not close to managing it, either, because Intel thinks it must invest pots of cash to close the gap.

This isn't an ideal approach; it would be better if the OEMs could produce these machines on their own. Still, the impetus is now there. Problem solved? Probably not.

My quest

I'm not being difficult just for the sake of it.

The latest MacBook Air is a desirable machine in many ways. The size, weight, screen resolution, and battery life are all fantastic, and the pricing is incredible. Seriously, did Apple forget to put a 1 before the 999? Unfortunately, Apple's hardware drives me up the wall in a number of ways that might seem insignificant to you, but which together simply wear me down. I've tried living with an Apple laptop day in, day out, and I just can't.

First of all, we have the keyboard. Sure, Apple keyboards have a decent feel, and that backlight, which a lot of people seem to go crazy for, is kind of fancy. It's just too bad that Cupertino can't get the damn keyboard layout right.

I'm English—a walking, talking Brit. I put "u"s in words like "favourite" and "colour," I see plays at the "theatre," and I walk on the "pavement." This has repercussions. The first is that I've been typing on a British keyboard layout for 20 years, and you know what? I'm damned if I'm going to stop now.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't sell a keyboard with a standard UK layout (BS 4822, for standards wonks out there). Apple has a keyboard layout it calls "UK"; I even get a £ symbol from pressing shift-3, just like on a real UK keyboard. But I expect to find #, the symbol that on American keyboards occupies the same shift-3 spot, on a dedicated key of its own, found on most keyboards around the world but not in the US. Several other keys have also been moved around. And it's for no good reason, as far as I can discern.

This is what a UK keyboard is meant to look like.

I can fix this flaw in software. I have a custom keyboard layout that makes the right characters appear when I press the keys, so it's not fatal. It's just ugly; the keycaps no longer match the letters that appear on-screen.

What I can't fix in software is Apple's idiotic narrow return key. On non-US keyboards, the return key is double-height, wider at the top than the bottom. The top part is not quite as wide as backspace above it, but even the bottom half is wider than a normal keycap. Not so on Apple's keyboards. The top part is just under the width of a standard key. The bottom part is, optimistically, half the width of a standard key. The result? I miss the return key all the time. Even after six months straight on a MacBook Pro, I miss. Other laptop keyboards don't do this. IBM didn't. Lenovo doesn't. Dell doesn't. HP doesn't. It's just Cupertino being difficult.

I also use the page navigation keys—the home/end, page up/page down block of six—about a million times a day. Well, except when I'm using a Mac, because (ha-ha) Apple doesn't include them. This isn't a new thing, mind you; the company has just never cared for them. The keys can be found on the full-size "extended" keyboards, but not on any portable. There are workarounds—key combinations that I can never remember—but I want real hardware keys. Unfixable.

I'm also a total sucker for TrackPoints ("nipples"). Apple's trackpads are the best in the business, and gestures are great. But I just don't care. I'm faster and more precise with a TrackPoint. Even better, give me both. A TrackPoint for pointing; a touchpad for gesturing.

On top of all that, I want to use Windows on my laptop. I'll also want to use the Windows 8 beta on it. That means I can't afford to be held hostage by Apple's lazy Bootcamp driver support. Even if all the other flaws are resolved, this one's a dealbreaker.

These might seem like minor issues. Perhaps they are; other people may not give a tinker's cuss about any of them. But a computer is essential to my job and my life. I put thousands of words into the keyboard every day and easily rack up 80 hours a week of computer use. New PCs cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and I shouldn't have to settle for something that doesn't actually fit my needs.

So that leaves me wanting a 13" MacBook Air that isn't made by Apple. Time to go shopping.

571 Reader Comments

Yes, Intel is investing $300m so you can get a "proper" UK keyboard. I guess if Apple relents and ships one, that $300m investment is wasted.

And since when is it "beating Apple at their own game" when MacBook Airs use Intel processors? Does Intel really care whether an end user buys a Dell or an Apple, as long as it has Intel inside? The game/battle metaphors seem kind of stretched.

I'm sure there was some kind of legitimate point to be made in an article about Intel's investment in Ultrabooks, but damn if I see one in the article.

Did Mr. Bright just spend a half-page detailing for us that he ought to buy a Lenovo?

Lenovo has nothing--so far--to compare with the MacBook Air. It has some Ultrabooks coming soon--though they're IdeaPads, not ThinkPads. Which means, amongst other things, no TrackPoint. And if there's no TrackPoint, what's the point of buying a Lenovo! And the use of 1366x768 is rather tragic, when compared with the 13" MacBook Air's 1440x900.

You had an OK start with the keyboard, but I stopped reading when you started slamming Apple for not providing something on their laptops that has absolutely no interest to them or their target market. You want to run Windows - betas nonetheless - and don't want to wait for Apple's "lazy" driver support - for someone else's OS - in beta. You're kidding right? And the (horrid IMHO) trackpoint - why the hell would Apple want to do that?

Like every machine made by any manufacturer, the Air isn't for everyone. If it doesn't fit your requirements don't buy it - wait for someone else to make one that does - but don't try to rubbish what's out there for "missing features" that aren't even relevant to it's target market. You had a point with the keyboard, the rest is bunkum...

You had an OK start with the keyboard, but I stopped reading when you started slamming Apple for not providing something on their laptops that has absolutely no interest to them or their target market. You want to run Windows - betas nonetheless - and don't want to wait for Apple's "lazy" driver support - for someone else's OS - in beta. You're kidding right? And the (horrid IMHO) trackpoint - why the hell would Apple want to do that?

Like every machine made by any manufacturer, the Air isn't for everyone. If it doesn't fit your requirements don't buy it - wait for someone else to make one that does - but don't try to rubbish what's out there for "missing features" that aren't even relevant to it's target market. You had a point with the keyboard, the rest is bunkum...

The point is, if you want to run Windows, though MacBook Airs work, they are not optimal. But when you look at PC laptops... they're not very good. And it's not just me who's noticed this gap: Intel has too.

If Intel was serious about beating Apple, it would stop selling its chips to Apple.

Indeed. Though Intel's shareholders might have something to say about the company "beating" one of its biggest customers by forgoing revenue from them. It'd be like Coca Cola "beating" McDonalds by not selling Coke to them. And equally nonsensical.

Although I'm a MacBook Air owner (typing on it right now), I have no undying loyalty to Apple. Most of my HD is partitioned to run Windows and my desktop is a Windows-running-PC-gaming behemoth. I'm in the military and small/thin is incredibly important with the traveling I do. As soon as someone comes up with a Windows alternative, I'll gladly jump on board. Until then, I have the money and I'm perfectly happy spending the extra on the Air...small return key and all.

Seriously, I'd like to see a sleek Windows-based laptop compete with the MacBook Air. That and the iPad are the only real markets that Apple has going for them right now (when it comes to lack of competition.)

I refuse to buy anything by Apple. To give my back some relief, I bought an Acer AO722 Netbook so I can have something to take to school. The 16" ASUS was simply too heavy and bulky to lug around on a regular basis.

Yes, Intel is investing $300m so you can get a "proper" UK keyboard. I guess if Apple relents and ships one, that $300m investment is wasted.

And since when is it "beating Apple at their own game" when MacBook Airs use Intel processors? Does Intel really care whether an end user buys a Dell or an Apple, as long as it has Intel inside? The game/battle metaphors seem kind of stretched.

I'm sure there was some kind of legitimate point to be made in an article about Intel's investment in Ultrabooks, but damn if I see one in the article.

I think the article headline was not the best possible. This is a really good article about the different directions PC makers and Apple have taken in hardware (I know Apple is also a PC maker, but the contrived distinction is convenient).

I am not sure what Intel intends to do with the 300m, but as they have admitted publicly, they are worried about Apple switching to ARM instead. They cannot become dependent on Apple to sell Intel Inside (especially since they don't have any branding left at that point, which would mean Apple, or other PC makers, could switch to AMD just as easily).

Apple users justifying buying a Mac as usual. Predictable thread is predictable. Oh this is pretty much wide open for OEM PC manufacturing. Will see how quality goes, but a grand only buys you so much for a skinny laptop. Even if it has an Apple logo on it. I refuse to call it an ultra portable. Its a thinner lighter laptop. Nothing more!

Just as a note, and I think this is dumb myself: Lenovo doesn't expect you to pay the price on their website. They are constantly running promos and sales, using coupons you can find on the web, that will drop those prices. Why they don't just lower their base price is beyond me.

Also, on the X220: The 'premium' screen is an IPS screen; low glare, matte, wide angle of view, and better colors. The only spec it loses to the Macbook on is resolution.

I think Apple are a bunch of bastards, yes, the whole lot of them, all lumped together - from Steve to the lady who works in the cafeteria.

If you have read many of my past posts you can see the above is true...and the only reason I mention this is because you don't confuse me as an iToy fanboi when I say:

The Air is a sexy little thing and worth the money IMHO.In all the years of Apple products this is the first one that I am really tempted to plonk down money for (had a MBP which I sold ASAP,sister has plenty of icrap so I have seen their stuff around me many a time) - but this is so good I am _almost_ willing to give Apple my money and put up with all their crap.

IF on the other hand someone in the PC market does come up with a decent knockoff bent towards windows 7 - it would be great not to feel like a sold out whore and not "compromise" by getting an Air.

Unfortunately I have yet to see a decent alternative that matches or beats the Air.

Apple users justifying buying a Mac as usual. Predictable thread is predictable. Oh this is pretty much wide open for OEM PC manufacturing. Will see how quality goes, but a grand only buys you so much for a skinny laptop. Even if it has an Apple logo on it. I refuse to call it an ultra portable. Its a thinner lighter laptop. Nothing more!

PC users only use price to justify their purchases.Might explain why the industry has profit margins that are so bad they can't afford to do their own research, development and design.

If you REALLY need to run Win8 on an Air (assumingly for review purposes), you could run it in VMWare or the like. Considering that's really the only point of using a Windows beta, especially considering they're quite dangerous outside a sandbox (I think we all remember the Win7 beta destroying MP3's debacle). For anything else Windows-related you need, I'm sure Boot Camp will fill the gap. I don't even need it. For the very few uses I have for Windows, I just fire it up in a VM.

As for the issue with keyboards, just give it a few weeks. You'll get used to it. It took me awhile to get used to Lion's backwards scrolling, but it finally happened, and considering I also have an old PPC Mac stuck on 10.5.8, I think I've actually finally perfected switching between the two scrolling styles. The same with the "nipple" things. There's nothing you can do with one that you can't do with a trackpad. It just takes a little adjustment on your part, but it'll be worth it in the end (for what it's worth, I don't think I've ever had a laptop that even had one of those nipple things).

Of course, Sony slightly undermines the impressiveness of its achievement by including a 20-year-old, and desperately obsolete, VGA connector onto the machine, meaning that the Vaio Z manages to both be a glimpse of the future (or at least, a possible future) and a look back into the PC's distant past.

there is a reason for this- Sony's positioning (and pricing) the Z-series as a business/executive model, and there are a HELL of a lot of companies out there with conference room projectors that only have VGA inputs. Mine included.

If you REALLY need to run Win8 on an Air (assumingly for review purposes), you could run it in VMWare or the like. Considering that's really the only point of using a Windows beta, especially considering they're quite dangerous outside a sandbox (I think we all remember the Win7 beta destroying MP3's debacle). For anything else Windows-related you need, I'm sure Boot Camp will fill the gap. I don't even need it. For the very few uses I have for Windows, I just fire it up in a VM.

Lack of reliable and full-featured hardware acceleration is a deal-breaker.

Quote:

As for the issue with keyboards, just give it a few weeks. You'll get used to it.

I have a MacBook Pro. I don't get used to it. It continues to drive me up the wall.

just read the headline, but intel's 300 million spending was to woo apple, not to beat them.they dont want apple (or anyone) deciding on arm for the next macbook air or other ultra.

I'd argue the use of 3D transistors on the 22nm process was designed to woo Apple from going ARM in the notebook range somewhere around 2013. The use of 3D transistors boosts performance a full generation - its like leaping all the way from 32nm to the 16nm node with 2D transistors. So now we can have designs that sip power and produce much less heat, and put them in impossibly thin laptops. CPUs that use 7-10W that perform the much faster than current ULV chips spec'd to be used in ultrabooks. And really its not even the CPU performance that hurts intel, its the onboard GPU that needs the most attention.

If you REALLY need to run Win8 on an Air (assumingly for review purposes), you could run it in VMWare or the like. Considering that's really the only point of using a Windows beta, especially considering they're quite dangerous outside a sandbox (I think we all remember the Win7 beta destroying MP3's debacle). For anything else Windows-related you need, I'm sure Boot Camp will fill the gap. I don't even need it. For the very few uses I have for Windows, I just fire it up in a VM.

Lack of reliable and full-featured hardware acceleration is a deal-breaker.

You act like an HD3000 is "reliable full featured" video acceleration.

I'm not even happy with my 9600GT's level of acceleration. You have got to be kidding me.

Your idea of a 'healthy' pc market is odd. They'd still be in thrall to two monopolies - Intel and MS. They'd still have razor thing margins. They're better off letting this market die, moving to arm tablets and Android and being able to take some control of the chips and OS back. And indeed, this is what they are doing.

You're wrong about what they can do to change. They can do nothing. Until they have their own consumer-focused stores, the PC makers can't sell a few models. Fewer models mean fewer sales in a competitive market. Just because you don't like their variations isn't the point. It's a long tail market. Especially the enterprise market that is so important to the Wintel market. Why has the trackpoint persisted in a commodity PC market? Differentiation. If there were fewer models, there'd almost certainly be none with a trackpoint.

Also, the highly competitive market - where they can't sell distinct chips or OS - HAS to have many models. It's how you can upsell customers. There's a whole technique that is applied to PCs and cars.

This was a great post - I've also found that searching PC manufacturers websites is excruciating. Configuring a Dell laptop on their website must have taken me through 20+ screens with largely pointless options. The first option is indicative of their opinion of their customers: colour choice. At least the processor is next, however then there is a load of "software and service" options such as 'Accidental Damage Protection' and a special panel for Adobe software (!?). You go through over 10 screens before you get to configure the rest of your key components like screen, memory etc.

Of course, after that they have a further 10 pages to "Accessorise My Dell"...

As you say the others aren't much better - I cannot spend more than a few minutes trying to fight my way around HP's website before giving up - thankfully they have left the PC market anyhow.

I think as you say, Apple's retail style is one their unsung strengths in this market - clear, un-confusing product lines and buying from their website is, in my opinion, generally a pleasure (unless the model you want doesn't have a processor upgrade - that being saved only for the more expensive model with the extra storage you didn't need...). However it is their stores that I wish other PC makers would emulate - I hate walking into electronics retailers with walls of generic laptops locked out on some stupid screen saver so you can't actually play with them, whereas in an apple store you can actually use the computer, get a feel for what it is like, how fast it is etc...

And could all of your points be applied to the various smartphone makers too...

Normally, Ars Technica puts out rather high quality material (which is why I bother to subscribe and toss a bit of cash their way). This article, however, is just blatantly factually wrong in several respects, and needs to be corrected. (It also makes some rather idiotic assumptions to begin with, including the purchase of an SSD from the manufacturer when they obviously charge double the going rate for them.)

I've went through a similar decision making process for around a year and finally gave in a few months ago, purchasing the mentioned X220 shortly after it started shipping. Based on this, and a cursory glance at Lenovo's pricing to remind myself I'm still sane, your pricing information is absolutely and completely wrong. An X220 with the default CPU/RAM and the options you listed is not, in fact, $1999. It is $1065 even with the best wireless option plugged in, and $1317 with the 128GB SSD option.

I can't speak for your other information, but if it involved the same level of research, you'd best double check your other information. Without proper research, you're not going to help anyone make this kind of decision or make a valid one yourself.

On a slightly more helpful note, the premium screen option is an IPS screen like the iPad and several other tablets use. It's actually stunningly good, and it's bright enough that it can be used outside even in southern Arizona (where I live).

Before the obvious trolling starts, I do *not* work for Lenovo or have any interest in such. I would, however, like factual errors corrected before press time.